Promoted Tweets are ordinary Tweets purchased by advertisers who want to reach a wider group of users or to spark engagement from their existing followers.
Promoted Tweets are clearly labeled as Promoted when an advertiser is paying for their placement on Twitter. In every other respect, Promoted Tweets act just like regular Tweets and can be retweeted, replied to, favorited and more.
All Promoted Tweets are first displayed as regular Tweets to the timelines of people following an account. The advertisers can then promote those Tweets to spark additional conversation.
Are Promoted Tweets like other online ads?
Since all Promoted Tweets start out as regular Tweets, there is not a single “ad” in our Promoted Tweets platform that isn’t already an organic part of Twitter.
This is distinct from both traditional search advertising and more recent social advertising.
Where do users see Promoted Tweets?
At the top of relevant search results pages on twitter.com. Promoted Tweets from our advertising partners are called out at the top of some search results pages on Twitter.com and through select ecosystem partners.
In Search Results for a Promoted Trend. Users may also see a Promoted Tweet in the search results when they click on a Promoted Trend.
Home Timelines. In some instances, Promoted Tweets may be visible within a user’s timeline if an advertiser has promoted a Tweet that is relevant to that user.
Enhanced profile pages. Brands or partners with enhanced profile pages may choose to pin a Promoted Tweet to the top of their timelines. For more information on enhanced profile pages, please see this article.
Official Twitter clients. Promoted Tweets from our advertising partners may also be displayed through Twitter’s official desktop and mobile clients, including TweetDeck, Twitter for iPhone, and Twitter for Android, among others.
Third-party Twitter clients. We are currently syndicating our Promoted Products suite to some third-party Twitter clients, including HootSuite.
How does Twitter determine which Promoted Tweets to display in a user’s timeline?
A Promoted Tweet will appear in a user’s timeline only if the Tweet is likely to be interesting and relevant to that user.
Our platform uses a variety of signals to determine which Promoted Tweets are relevant to users, including what a user chooses to follow, how they interact with a Tweet, what they retweet, and more.
Will all users see Promoted Tweets in their timeline?
We are rolling this out slowly this fall, starting with a small percentage of users.
During that time, only a limited number of Twitter users will see ads in their timeline.
And, those users will only see a Promoted Tweet in their timeline if an advertiser’s Promoted Tweet is likely to be relevant to them.
How often will people see Promoted Tweets in their timeline?
We're focused on providing a great user experience, first and foremost. As a result, we’re being thoughtful in how we display Promoted Tweets in users’ timelines.
During this initial rollout, we will be conservative about the number of Promoted Tweets that people see in a single day.
Any Promoted Tweet people see in their timeline will appear just once, at or near the top of their timeline. Then, the Promoted Tweet will scroll through the timeline like any other Tweet.
Is there a chance people won’t see any Promoted Tweets in their timeline?
Yes. We are rolling this out slowly, initially to just a small percentage of users. As a result, most people will not see Promoted Tweets in their timeline.
Users who are part of this initial rollout will only see a Promoted Tweet in their timeline if an advertiser is promoting one that is relevant to them.
Where in the user timeline will Promoted Tweets appear?
Any Promoted Tweet people see in their timeline will appear just once, at or near the top of their timeline. Then, the Promoted Tweet will scroll through the timeline like any other Tweet.
Once a user has seen a Promoted Tweet in their timeline, they will never see that Promoted Tweet again.
Can users dismiss a Promoted Tweet if they see one in their timeline?
Users who dislike a Promoted Tweet can simply dismiss it from their timeline with a single click, using the “Dismiss” button that appears as part of the Tweet.
Can users opt out of seeing Promoted Tweets in their timeline?
We are strongly committed to delivering the most relevant ads to the right user at the right time.
Users who dislike a Promoted Tweet can simply dismiss it from their timeline with a single click. But, they will not be able to opt out of seeing ads in the timeline.
As always, we are paying close attention to how consumers interact with Promoted Tweets and we’ll continue to make iterations and improvements as we better understand consumer reaction.
